1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to panels which can be used in coverings for architectural openings and to an architectural opening utilizing such a panel. The panel includes a support structure having on its face a plurality of horizontally extending vertically spaced strips of material whose top edges are fixed to the support structure at predetermined locations along the height of the support structure and whose bottom edges are slidably related to the support structure. The bottom edges can be selectively drawn upwardly toward the fixed top edges so as to create gaps between the strips of material through which vision and light can pass.
The panel can be used in a covering for architectural openings that might include a roller at the top of the covering around which the panel can be wrapped when retracting the panel from an extended position across the architectural opening. The covering is also movable between an open position in which the lower edge of each strip of material is positioned adjacent to its upper edge and a closed position in which the upper and lower edges of each strip of material are maximally spaced.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Coverings for architectural openings such as windows, doors, archways, and the like have assumed numerous forms for many years. Early forms of such coverings consisted primarily of fabric draped across the architectural opening and in many instances the fabric was not movable between extended and retracted positions relative to the opening.
Retractable coverings for architectural openings have evolved into many different forms which include roller shades in which a piece of flexible material can be extended from a wrapped condition on a roller to an extended position across the architectural opening and vice versa.
Another popular form of a retractable covering for an architectural opening is the Venetian Blind wherein a plurality of horizontally disposed slats are suspended on cord ladders such that the slats can be pivoted about their horizontal longitudinal axes between open and closed positions or the entire blind can be retracted by lifting the bottom-most slat thereby accumulating each of the slats disposed thereabove until a stack of the slats is disposed adjacent the top of the architectural opening.
Vertical blinds have also been developed which are similar to venetian blinds except the slats or vanes are disposed vertically and can be pivoted about longitudinal vertical axes to move the covering between open and closed positions. The slats or vanes can also be moved horizontally so as to be stacked adjacent one or both side edges of the architectural opening when the covering is retracted or extended across the opening with the slats or vanes uniformly spaced.
More recently, cellular shades have become very popular and come in many different varieties. In one popular cellular shade, horizontally disposed collapsible tubes of material are connected and vertically stacked to form a panel of such tubes. When the panel is fully extended, it covers the architectural opening but the panel can be retracted by lifting the lowermost cell thereby collapsing each cell thereabove until a relatively thin stack of cells are accumulated adjacent to the top of the opening.
Another popular cellular product utilizes a pair of spaced vertically extending sheets of translucent material, such as sheer fabric, having a plurality of horizontally disposed vanes extending therebetween. The vanes may be rigid or flexible and are adapted to pivot about longitudinal axes when the vertical sheets of material are shifted in opposite vertical directions. The entire panel of sheets and vanes can also be easily rolled about a roller to retract the covering.
Modifications of vertical blinds have also been recently developed wherein a plurality of vertically extending vanes are interconnected along one vertical edge with a sheet of fabric material, which might be sheer fabric, so the covering resembles a drapery product but the vanes, disposed behind the sheer fabric, are pivotable about longitudinal vertical axes to selectively block vision and light through the sheer. Of course, the vanes and attached fabric can also be accumulated at one or more sides of the architectural opening when retracting the covering from its extended position across the architectural opening.
The design of coverings for architectural openings can be seen to encompass a myriad of different forms with these forms being driven by both utilitarian and aesthetic factors. Many times one of these factors will dictate the other but various combinations of components are constantly being developed to satisfy the unquenching thirst of consumers for coverings for architectural openings in their dwellings or commercial space which satisfy both utilitarian and aesthetic desires.
It is to satisfy such desires that the present invention has been developed.